Collection of Noblesse Ficlets
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: Collection of Noblesse Ficlets.
1. Pleasant Memories

So. I'm having a lot of fun over at fic_promptly at dreamwidth and have written a couple of ficlets. :) Problem is, I don't want to spam the section with one-shots so I'll be putting any ficlets I write here. They aren't connected with each other in any way, but I do have to say that I'm writing a couple of things I don't normally do (very crack-ish, in some cases), so please make sure to read the 'Contains' part of the header.

**Summary**: M-21 muses.

Contains glossed over death.

Written for the prompt, 'M-21, pleasant memories'.

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Pleasant Memories<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>Sometimes, it's hard for M-21 to realise just how different his life used to be when he looks back. He's no longer at the beck and call of the whims of scientists, and when he <em>is <em>told to do something by Frankenstein, it's to look after the children, or to tidy the house, not kill the families the Union want silenced, or clean up any information that had been carelessly left behind.

It's strange, but M-21's life isn't actually that different from how it used to be. He spends a lot of time in a lab, works in a uniform, and in a general sense, is told what to do. Yet, he feels so much _better_ and freer than he ever has in his life. His spare time is spent playing games with the children, or exploring the city with Takio and Tao, or bickering with Regis. He never would have thought he could have a life like this when he had been with the Union. That he is _allowed _to live like this.

There's one thing that definitely hasn't changed though: he had comrades then, and he has comrades now. This time, he will do everything in his power to make sure they don't die in front of him.


	2. Something Different

**Summary**: Takio woke up one morning a little different.

Contains swearing and genderbending.

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Something Different<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>Takio stared at him…her…<em>him<em>self in the mirror, making sure…_his _tie was on straight. It didn't look like it when the tie hung a little off his chest.

He sighed, covering his face with a hand. He had no idea what the fuck had happened but he had woken up with _breasts_ and lacking something between his legs. He was fairly sure it had nothing to do with the experiments, but who knew? Frankenstein hadn't said anything about any side-effects though; Takio was pretty sure he would have said something about _that_.

There was a knock at his door. "Hey, Takio, you all right?"

Hah.

Tao opened the door when Takio didn't say anything, walking straight in.

"I'm fine," Takio said, frowning at himself. He didn't really _look _that different – smaller shoulders, his hips were larger (he'd only just been able to fit into his trousers), and the other obvious changes, but he still looked like himself.

"…What happened to your voice?"

"This." Slowly, Takio turned around so Tao could see him properly.

Tao looked at him in confusion before his eyes flicked down. And stayed there.

"Uh… Takio?" He practically squeaked, his eyes wide.

"I'm still going to work," Takio said firmly. Frankenstein wouldn't let him off _not_going to work – he wasn't sick, wasn't injured, wasn't in pain so he had no excuse.

"W-well, haha, yeah, I guess so…" Tao rubbed the back of his head, looking away. Then he snickered, glancing back at him. "I don't think if anyone'll notice."

Takio snorted. Their suits were formfitting, but the shirt had enough give in it to allow for his new…chest and he didn't think people would mind if one button on his jacket wasn't done up.

"I mean, your hair is still the same length!"

"Actually…" Takio brought his ponytail over his shoulder, holding it between his hands. "It's shorter." By at least a couple of inches. There weren't any hairs on his bed so he had no idea where it had gone. He was the most concerned about that than anything else, which he found a little strange, but he had been an experiment for years now – he was _used _to his body changing one way or another in a short period of time.

"Well…" Tao drew the word out, a grin stretching his face. "At least it means you'll need less stuff for your hair."

Takio glared at him. "I still have my guns and I can still use them, you know." Not that he'd tried to yet –Frankenstein would kill him- but it wasn't as if he'd forgotten any of his training.

"All right, all right," Tao said, his grin still in place, holding his hands up in a placating manner. Tao suddenly blinked and his grin went _wider_. "Hey, wanna bet how long it'll take for M-21 to notice?"

"He'll notice as soon as I open my mouth," Takio said flatly. Or before – his centre of balance was different from what he was used to.

Shaking his head, Takio grabbed his coat and left to get breakfast with Tao. He'd ask Frankenstein about it at the first chance he had.

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><p>Written for the prompt, 'I can still use a gun'.<p> 


	3. Insight

**Summary**: Frankenstein had missed one thing in his check-ups of M-21…

Contains genderbending.

Set some time after chapter 163. Spoilers about the origins of M-21's power and what happens to M-21, Takio and Tao.

This isn't a response to any specific prompt, but more to the general theme of genderbending.

Haha, Frankenstein most probably _wouldn't_ miss something he was involved with but the plotbunny demanded to be written.

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Insight<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>M-21 dodged the crack of Tao's whip and lashed out at Takio, who jerked back, his hands instantly going to his sides where his pistols were. Which shouldn't be there since they were practicing how they would fight on Ye Ran grounds, but M-21 wasn't supposed to have his claws out either.<p>

Tao hadn't said anything about it, apart from they were getting to know each other's abilities either way, grinning all the while.

Breathing out, feeling his heart racing in his chest, M-21 concentrated on keeping his transformation steady. He didn't have that much longer but if he could just push himself that little bit more…

Takio charged at Tao, his fingers away from the triggers, M-21 following him a step behind. Tao span to meet Takio and Takio jumped out of the way of his attack – which then left Tao open, too slow to turn around, his whip still returning to his hand.

M-21 put on another burst of speed and then –

Stumbled as his transformation suddenly spread wider, his heart beating far too hard to point where it _hurt_. Gasping, M-21 fell to his knees, seeing the world lurch, feeling the fur on his arms crawl in and over his chest.

"M-21!" In a flash, both Takio and Tao were crouched next to him, worry in their eyes.

He closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. "I'm all right," he told them, feeling his heartbeat beat strongly, but it wasn't going any faster.

They didn't respond.

M-21 opened his eyes to see them staring at his chest.

He looked down, wondering what was wrong. His shirt felt tighter than before, but the fur was the cause…of…

The bulge on his chest was too big to only be fur. And he could _see _the fur from his vantage point, curving around something.

"Hah," M-21 huffed, wide-eyed, not believing what he was seeing. His heart had belonged to a female werewolf?

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><p>There should be a reaction scene to this…<p>

So, wolves have _more than two_. … pfffffffffthahahahaha! I am so sorry, M-21!


	4. Knowledge

**Summary**: M-21's comrades don't know the origin of his power.

Contains nothing to warn about.

Set some time after chapter 156. Prompt is also a spoiler so that's at the bottom.

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Knowledge<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>M-21's comrades don't know he has a werewolf's heart.<p>

He was fairly sure they didn't know – they hadn't said anything about his transformed appearance, at least.

They hadn't asked about it or what had been done to him either, just like he hadn't asked when had been done to them.

Because they didn't need to know. All they had to know was that they had each other's backs when they needed it. After that, why was more information needed? 

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><p>Written for the prompt, 'any, any, his friends don't know he's a were-(author's choice)"<p> 


	5. Investigate

**Summary**: M-21, Takio and Tao investigate a possible leak about the nobles.

Contains swearing. And Twilight. Yes, _that_ Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. XD

Set after 156 and before the Lukedonia arc. Spoilers for lots of things before that.

Written for the prompt 'Any, Any, X is a Twilight-type vampire.' Bwahahaha!

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Investigate<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>"Yo."<p>

M-21 looked up to see Tao's thoughtful gaze as he walked towards M-21 and Takio. …M-21 could already feel the wariness creep into his stomach. With a sigh, he continued washing the dishes, though making sure they didn't clink against each other so much – Frankenstein would be pissed off if he neglected his chore while listening to Tao.

"What is it?" M-21 asked him carefully, not sure if he wanted to know what Tao was planning.

Tao hummed. "I think someone knows about the nobles."

What? "That's impossible," M-21 blurted out, staring at him. "The Union had very little information about them and most of it was wrong." The only way someone could know would be if…they had had direct contact with a noble.

Fuck.

"You _think?_" Takio repeated, and when M-21 turned to him, Takio was frowning. "You haven't looked into it further?"

Tao chuckled, scratching his chin. "I _did_, but accounts about it varies too much – the only thing I can do is check the original source."

Takio didn't look that convinced, an eyebrow raised. "That's never stopped you before. Is it _that _hard to get a hold of it?"

"No… I've got it on my computer right now but…" Tao looked away, a sheepish grin on his face. "It's a film." There was a small pause. "A romance one."

…

"You want us to watch it with you so you don't have to watch it alone," Takio supplied, his tone flat.

"Hey," Tao said, shrugging, "I might miss something."

M-21 huffed, lifting a plate out to put it on the drying rack. That was doubtful.

"It's not like either of you are doing anything anyway, right?"

That was, unfortunately, true.

"And it's _how _long?" Takio muttered while he cleaned some cutlery.

"Two hours."

It could have been worse, M-21 supposed. "Why do you think there's been a leak?" he asked as he started on the next plate.

Tao rubbed the back of his head. "Well, like I said, the contents of the film aren't really talked about –and you can miss a lot if you only have the text and not the visuals alongside it- but one thing's definitely agreed on: there's sparkling vampires in it."

M-21 raised his eyebrows at Tao. "Rai and Frankenstein don't really sparkle." Rai didn't; Frankenstein _did _whenever he started a new project though.

"They can also walk about in the daytime and have abilities that are different from the usual myths about them." Tao frowned. "But that's why I want to double-check – I could be wrong about this, and most people would take it for fiction, but if a noble _was_in contact with a human…"

That wasn't something they normally did, not without erasing the human's memories of it afterwards.

"All right. I'll watch it." M-21 eyed the water in front of him. Just as soon as they'd finished the dishes.

xOx

Once all the dishes had been dried and put away (Tao had helped), they sat clustered around the main computer in Tao's room, making sure not to destroy any cables or pull out any plugs.

The film was in English, which they all knew, but it had been a while since they'd heard it; Tao had assured them there were Korean subtitles at the bottom anyway, so mistranslations probably wouldn't happen, unless the subtitles themselves were wrong.

They had also brought popcorn (which Tao had proclaimed was 'traditional' to eat while watching films – M-21 hadn't argued with him because it was the first time he'd ever watched one, and Takio's only response to it was a roll of the eyes) and some drinks, on a tray nearby, to make sure they kept the mess to a minimum.

After making sure they had everything they needed, they settled down to watch.

xOx

When the first person was killed, M-21 frowned. "They were acting more like infected people than nobles," he commented. Which was what everyone thought were normal vampires, and if that was the case, they didn't need to watch the rest of it.

Takio nodded slowly beside him. "Yeah, but we haven't seen everything yet."

"Hm."

xOx

"The..." -M-21 struggled to remember the name, and then gave up- "family are supposed to be nobles, aren't they?" He had gotten _that _much from the film already.

Tao hummed in agreement.

"But Edward doesn't have red eyes," Takio mused.

"Neither does Frankenstein," Tao pointed out.

M-21 suddenly had a feeling they wouldn't going to be able to discern whether or not the film's vampires was based on nobles. The only way they'd be able to do it would be if they showed it to the _actual _nobles in the house. He couldn't imagine any one of them sitting down to watch the film.

xOx

Takio tilted his head at the screen. "…Was Edward just in Bella's room?"

M-21 nodded. "Yeah."

Takio snorted, glancing at Tao. "That doesn't seem familiar."

Tao chuckled weakly. "I didn't go into his room-"

"You went to his house, in the middle of the night," Takio interrupted, his voice dry. "And then you took him out for coffee."

M-21 looked between them, confusion growing in him. "Who are you…" He stopped himself, shaking his head. It was probably about a mission they had been on together.

"Ik-han," Takio and Tao said together.

_What? _He whirled around to stare at Tao, who scooted back a little, a sheepish grin on his face. "I'd wanted to meet him after I'd tried to hack into his uncle's database and he'd blocked me every time," Tao explained quickly. "I hadn't had that much fun in a while." His tone was wistful.

…Right. He wasn't going to ask.

xOx

"_This is why we don't show ourselves in the sunlight – people would know we're different._"

…

"He's not sparkling like Rai or Frankenstein."

"No…"

Tao stopped the film, sighing. "So much for that."

"Tao," Takio said, his eyes narrowed, "the next time you want to investigate a possible leak about nobles, you can do it yourself."

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><p>The italicised dialogue is a quote from the first movie.<p>

Tried to make it so it wasn't just a sporking. X3 Tao goes for the movies rather than the books because the movies would be faster to go through and 'should' be a decent enough overview of the books.

Omgggggg, I _so_ want to see M-21's reaction to the werewolves in New Moon! XDD Never gonna happen though.


	6. Bonded

**Summary**: Innocent-looking items should be left alone. Always.

Contains soulbonding. :3 Some M-21/Regis.

For the prompt of 'any, any, nonconsensually soul bonded'.

Set…sometime after 156.

So I was sad for a second when I saw this prompt because I wanted to write it _so badly_ but I didn't have any fandoms that would fit. And then I went with the non-explained, crack route. Then I thought about which characters to soulbond… D

Pffffft. Overuse of the italics here. XDD;;

*pokes scene endings*

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Bonded<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>M-21 grimaced at his pounding head, feeling like the chemicals in the injections had been changed again, his body feeling unresponsive and heavy.<p>

'_That's strange…_'

Was it? Through his fuzzy mind, M-21 realised it was. Frankenstein's treatment of him never involved needles, and he always felt cool metal at his back, not grit on his face.

Behind the ache of his head, M-21 could indistinctly hear shouting.

"-1! M-21!"

He sucked in a startled breath when the world sharpened around him, his eyes flying open to see Takio's face, worry written in every line, hovering over him.

Takio sagged in relief, his eyes fluttering closed for a second. "You all right?"

M-21 nodded slowly as he gingerly sat up, checking if everything was in working order. What had happened? He, Takio and Tao had been walking home from school and had bumped into Regis. Then…something had rolled across their path. Regis had picked it up while they tried to see where it had come from and – nothing.

He looked around carefully, feeling frustratingly weak, and saw Regis a foot away in a similar position, Tao crouched next to him.

M-21 let loose a quiet sigh of relief, making sure it didn't show on his face. As much as he enjoyed sniping with Regis, with the headache he had, he wouldn't be at his best and would probably make it worse if he tried to.

But why did he suddenly feel guilty about it?

xOx

The trip back home had been quiet, both Takio and Tao keeping a close eye on M-21 and Regis. The…ball (transparent, could easily fit in M-21's palm, sounded like it was glass) had been carefully poked into Tao's jacket with a stick -and then swung in small arcs the whole time- for Frankenstein to study.

M-21 had begun to feel better the longer he stayed upright, but Regis had been silent, twitching at nothing every once in a while.

It worried him. Had Regis been affected differently because he was a noble?

Regis suddenly made a huffing sound, but when everyone turned to him, Regis didn't say anything, pointedly staring away from them.

When they entered the house, the lights were already on, Frankenstein sitting at the table. How…? M-21 was sure he hadn't been unconscious for _that _long.

Frankenstein lifted his head to greet them, a smile on his face – and then froze, his eyes flicking between M-21 and Regis.

"Ah. I see."

M-21 looked at him in puzzlement. _What _did he see, and did he know what happened?

Regis nodded curtly at Frankenstein and instantly stalked stiffly out the room.

"Takio, Tao, thank you for bringing them back. If you could hand me…?" Tao gave Frankenstein his jacket. "Now, can you two set the table while I see to this?"

Uneasiness crept into the pit of M-21's stomach. Frankenstein was splitting them up. He didn't normally do that for treatments and Frankenstein was usually open about what he did, except for when he was so absorbed in what he was doing that he assumed everyone knew what he was talking about. Even then, he didn't – he didn't hide information unless it was something _personal_.

In a daze, M-21 let Frankenstein guide him away.

xOx

Regis was waiting for them upstairs, pacing an empty bedroom, glaring at the walls, his whole body tense.

"I take it this happened as soon as you touched the artefact?" Frankenstein mused as soon as he closed the door behind himself.

"Yes," Regis said tersely, not looking at either of them.

_What _had happened? M-21 didn't feel any different from how he normally was-

And there was that flash of guilt again, a second before Regis flinched.

…Wait.

Why was Regis acting like…? He had been quiet when they'd been coming back, reacting to- M-21 ran through what he had been thinking when Regis had done something strange – and M-21 could suddenly feel the sense of Other in his head. Someone _was in his head_-

"M-21," Frankenstein said quietly, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

_No_, he _didn't understand_; someone was trying to-

'_I'm _trying_ to stay out your head!_'

M-21's thoughts stopped as he stared at Regis, _feeling _the guilt and frustration more than reading it on Regis' face.

"What…?" he croaked, his body trembling as he tried to understand just what exactly was happening.

"If you would take a seat…?" Frankenstein suggested, gesturing to the bed. M-21 more fell onto it than sat on it, but his legs didn't feel like they could take his weight for that much longer anyway.

Frankenstein cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. "There isn't an easy way to say this," he started carefully, "but, it would appear that you and Regis are soulbonded."

"Soulbonded," M-21 repeated faintly. His _soul_ was bonded with _Regis'_…?

Frankenstein nodded, watching him carefully. "I can reverse it, but it will take some time."

"How long?" M-21 and Regis asked at the same time. M-21 froze and then glanced at Regis, who stared back at him. That…had been his own thoughts; he was sure of it – he hadn't felt Regis in his mind when he had said that.

"It should only take me a few hours," Frankenstein informed them, his eyes flicking to the jacket in his hand.

M-21 could feel a twinge of relief that wasn't his mirror his own. He clenched his jaw at the invasion, but he couldn't block it out; he could resist mind control, but this felt different to the times he'd practiced with M-24 – this wasn't a pressure to submit, to _listen what I have to say_, but it was just…there. A connection they had to each other's brains.

"If you'll excuse me," Frankenstein said as he left the room.

Neither of them said a word after the door clicked shut.

They didn't have to.

_'This will only last a few hours,_' M-21 consoled himself, closing his eyes.

A snort and a thread of relief. '_It could have been worse._'

M-21 narrowed his eyes at Regis. '_How?_'

Regis winced, and then sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I don't know much about soulbonding," Regis admitted out loud, and M-21 could feel annoyance from him. "All I do know about it is…" The annoyance changed, wavering, before hesitation replaced it.

"When two people are soulbound together," Regis started again slowly, keeping his eyes averted, "they're supposed to…" '_I can't tell him that!_'

"Regis, tell me." If there was more to soulbonding, he wanted to know, so he would be prepared if whatever was missing happened without him realising.

The hesitation grew.

"They're…" Regis cleared his throat. "They're supposed to fall in love."

Regis winced again as M-21 stared at him, completely dumbfounded. In _love? _No, M-21 was sure he wasn't that with Regis and it was something he would definitely notice if it did happen.

M-21 sighed, leaning back. "I'm going to bed," he said as he stood up. There wasn't much else they could do. Hopefully by the time he woke up, Frankenstein would have figured out how to reverse the bond.

xOx

M-21 would have gone to sleep if he could have. He couldn't though, not with the constant presence in his head, jerking him back to wakefulness when Regis' mind wandered – and it wasn't something M-21 was innocent of either.

'_We…are not going to be able to rest unless we fall asleep at the same time, are we?_' M-21 heard faintly in his mind. The first time he'd heard Regis' thoughts he'd nearly tumbled out of bed in surprise.

He snorted, staring up at the ceiling. '_No,_' he agreed, feeling exhausted, but he had given up on the idea of falling asleep after the first hour.

They'd found that they couldn't block each other from their minds and in some cases, when they tried that, the other person heard their thoughts even more clearly than before.

With a sigh, M-21 ran a hand through his hair and then sat up. He could feel Regis' curiosity before Regis' focus flickered away, berating himself tumbling through the bond.

'_I'm going to see if Frankenstein has found a way to break the bond yet._' They obviously weren't going to be sleeping any time soon, and it would at least give them something to pass the time.

'_Ah. Hm, yes, I'll meet you there._'

xOx

M-21 was the first to arrive at the entrance of Frankenstein's lab, but he could hear Regis coming closer so he waited for him, leaning on the wall.

When Regis turned the corner, M-21 blinked. The way the lamplight hit him, it practically made Regis glow. Regis' hair moved with his every step and M-21 wondered how he hadn't noticed how soft it looked before.

He –

M-21 sucked in a deep breath, taking a step back, feeling his own horror echoing Regis'.

'_Were we just-_'

'_Yes._'

Regis made a strangled noise at the back of his throat.

'_It's-_' M-21 wrenched himself away from the habit of talking in his mind (and when had he gotten so used to it already?) and started again out loud. "It's gotten stronger."

He felt Regis' agreement before Regis nodded.

Without another word or thought, they both hurried down the stairs to Frankenstein's lab, making sure not to look at each other, just in case.

When the door to the lab swished open, Frankenstein was standing by the back wall, a tray in his hands.

"Oh," Frankenstein said as he walked towards them, smiling. "I was just going to call you – these should dissolve the bond between you." On the tray was a plate that had two white capsules in the centre of it, two glasses of water next to it.

"…'Should'," M-21 repeated warily. That didn't sound too promising.

Frankenstein nodded, pushing his glasses up after he'd set the tray on the closest counter. "This is the first time I've seen this specific kind of artefact before, but I doubt you two would want to get rid of the bond in the traditional way."

There was a tendril of doubt from both of them. M-21 didn't want to try something that had been untested – who knew what the side-effects could be.

"What is the traditional way?" Regis asked.

Frankenstein's smile froze before he raised a hand to cough into his fist. "Well, the traditional way would be to, ah, consummate the bond."

…

M-21 and Regis reached for the capsules at the same time.

Nothing seemed to have changed after M-21 had swallowed the pill, apart from leaving an apple aftertaste. He hadn't noticed when the bond had formed either though.

He glanced at Regis and was relieved when his thoughts didn't suddenly swerve again.

'_Can you hear me?_' he tried, just in case.

The only response was silence and no echo of emotions either.

"You didn't hear that," Regis said, eyeing him.

M-21 shook his head, feeling a tired smile tugging at his lips. Good. Even though it had only been a few hours, that was more than enough.

Now, he was going to stumble up the stairs, collapse into his bed and then sleep. Hopefully he would never have to think about what had happened ever again.

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><p>M-21 and Regis were the ones to be bonded because Regis picked it up and M-21 was the person standing closest to him at the time. :3<p>

Kinda wanted them to spar, but they were too tired and would have been waaaay too distracted. XD

I got about halfway before I realised I'd forgotten the whole 'fall in love with each other' part. XDD;;

I don't think I'm using 'consummate' right?


	7. Suspicious Noices

**Summary**: M-21 hears some suspicious noises from the roof and goes to investigate.

Contains zombies.

For the prompt of 'Author's choice, author's choice, zombie apocalypse'. *snerk* Not really 'horror', but ah well. XDD;.

Set after 156.

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><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Suspicious Noices<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>M-21 frowned, glancing up at the roof. That sounded like… But that couldn't be right. He quietly made his way up, pausing every couple of steps just in case the noise came again, just in case he had heard it wrong.<p>

The muffled sound became clearer the higher M-21 climbed the house, still sounding exactly like what he thought he was. The door to the balcony was open, a cool night breeze wafting in, and M-21 toed it open, glad when it didn't squeak or give away his presence.

"Yo, M-21!"

M-21 flinched at the sudden call, and then frowned when he didn't see Tao. Where…?

"Hey, actually…" Tao's voice went quieter, his tone musing, as M-21 stepped out onto the balcony. It had come from higher than him – what was Tao doing on the roof? "M-21, what do you know about zombies?" There was the familiar sound of tapping on the keyboard accompanying Tao's voice.

The questions in M-21's mind were shuffled to the back of his mind as he thought about any information he'd come across in the Union's databases. "The Union had tried to…make zombies, but those experiments were eventually dropped because the zombies didn't respond to the treatments after they'd been created." There had been videos attached to those files, but M-21 had left them untouched.

When he got to the barrier, M-21 turned around and looked up – and then froze, his eyes flying wide at the sight of Takio sitting next to Tao, his rifle out, looking at something down the scope.

"_What_-"

_Tssshk._

_Plink._

M-21 watched the shell-casing fall in utter disbelief. He whirled around, his hands braced on the barrier, scouring for Takio's target - he found the small pile of bodies instantly, the view clear from their vantage point.

But… But something was wrong. It was too _neat_, a literal pile of bodies, not a scattering of them.

And Tao had asked him about zombies.

"So you don't know how it spreads?" Tao asked M-21 as he climbed his way up to them, making sure to stay out of Takio's line of sight.

He shook his head. "Their information about nobles wasn't correct, so I wouldn't trust what they know."

Tao hummed, his fingers still working at the laptop.

_Tssshk._

_Plink._

"How…did you know they were zombies?" M-21 asked them, watching windows open and close on Tao's screen. Unless they had attacked someone while they were watching…

"Heh. The dragging feet helped." Another window popped up, and M-21 found himself looking at a missing persons report. "I checked the first one out on cameras and found him easily enough." There was a small pause as the window changed to show a still from a camera. M-21 grimaced. "The bulletholes through his chest was the second clue." The blood splatter on his clothes was off, from what M-21 could see - and the blood dripping from his lips definitely wasn't from an injury.

"They're all coming out from the same door, at a fairly steady rate-"

_Tssshk._

_Plink._

"-and the blueprints don't show that the building's connected to anything."

Feeling the wind tug at his hair, M-21 straightened out, eyeing the distance between them and the building; it wouldn't take him too long to get there and he could easily deal with the zombies by himself. If he missed any, Takio would take care of it.

M-21 caught the earpiece as it flew towards him.

"Make sure they don't bite or scratch you," Tao warned him.

"We don't know if that's how it spreads," M-21 pointed out as he inserted the earpiece.

"We're not finding out the hard way either," Takio informed him, lifting his head away from his rifle.

M-21 watched as Takio pulled out his pistols, not understanding why he was doing that.

Takio raised an eyebrow at him. "We can't cover your back if we're outside."

"Yep!" Tao unfurled his whip with a grin. "We'd better do this quickly – Seira's cooking tonight."

Snorting, M-21 nodded, and together, they went to deal with the zombie problem. 

* * *

><p>I don't know what sound a rifle makes and with the sheer size of Takio's rifle, it should be making a <em>lot<em> of noise, but let's just say the Union makes good, quiet weapons. X3;

I totally wanted this exchange:  
>'What are you <em>doing?<em>'  
>'Headshotting zombies,' Tao informed him cheerfully.<p> 


	8. Domestic

**Summary**: Life is normal and quiet – this isn't _normal_.

Contains M-21/Tao/Takio.

Set after 156. Set post-series. Assumes Seira and Regis come back.

For the prompt of 'Noblesse, M-21/Tao/Takeo, domestic'

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Domestic<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>The plates squeaked as M-21 cleaned them, the water moving in the other sink as Takio rinsed some cutlery. Tao was walking the children to the door, all of them laughing heartily at the fun they'd had that evening. And…M-21 realised that this had become standard for their days: they would wake up, work at the school, the children would come over to play games or just hang out, and then he, Takio and Tao would have a few hours to do whatever they wanted, unless it was the weekend. Even then, they'd be accompanying Seira when she went shopping (where it eventually meant having to follow Tao through electronic shops, Takio through the hair care section), helping Frankenstein on his quest to make the perfect ramen bowl for Rai, or…just whatever they felt like doing at the time. Watching a movie, wandering the city, getting dragged out with the children.<p>

They hadn't been in a proper fight where blood was spilled for months now, M-21 realised with a start. They still sparred with each other, just in case something _did _come up, but they didn't do it with the same intense concentration as they did before, more like it was exercise they did together, like they did everything else.

Tao loped an arm around his neck, drawing him close, and M-21 could see him do the same with Takio, who let him do that with a roll of his eyes and a snort.

"What's up?" Tao asked him, bumping his forehead with his own.

M-21 watched the water slosh in the sink. "This is normal," he said, his voice fainter than usual. This was _domestic_; who would have thought he would be doing this so long that he would get used to it?

Takio moved his shoulders a bit to free him enough from Tao's arm to look at M-21, an eyebrow raised. "Yeah…?"

M-21 could feel a small smile on his lips, and he shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Tao loosened his arms so M-21 and Takio could stand up properly, and Takio and Tao shared a look. "Uh-huh," they said together, turning back to him.

When M-21 didn't elaborate, Tao scratched his chin with a finger. "Anyway, there's this new game I wanna try out – it's fantasy with magic and all other cool stuff so…?"

M-21's smile grew. "Sounds like fun."

"_After _we're done with the dishes," Takio commented.

"Heh. Of course."

Another component of their life that was normal was fearing for lives if they ever left work that Frankenstein had left them to do undone.

* * *

><p>Haha, I seem determined to get them to play Second Life. XDD<p> 


	9. After Hours

**Summary**: Just a normal day after work...

Contains swearing.

Spoilers up to chapter 154.

For the prompt, 'Any, any, dust storms.' Except I read this as 'dust clouds'. *facepalm*

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>After Hours<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>The lights were already on when Takeo, Tao and M-21 arrived home after work, but there was something that made Takeo slow down, scanning the living room. His skin prickled, setting him on edge, and that was when Takeo saw the cloud of dust hanging around the ceiling. What...?<p>

There was a sucking breath behind him, and Takeo turned to see M-21 staring at the cloud in wide-eyed _horror_. That was when the panic started to race in - M-21 wasn't ruffled by _anything_, unless it involved the kids being hurt, and the thought made Takeo's stomach roll.

"What is it?" he whispered, listening out for anything that shouldn't be there.

And fuck, his pistols were in his room! They should still be able to handle-

"Frankenstein's _cleaning_."

Takeo stopped breathing.

Oh, _shit_.

That meant one of two things: they would be put to work, cleaning up every corner of the house so that not one speck of dust remained, or if they so much as left a bit of dirt-

If they so much as left a bit of dirt where Frankenstein had already cleaned, the dark aura drifting in through the other door would wrap itself around them like a boa constrictor would do to its prey until it enveloped them completely, like it had just done with the dust cloud. When the aura moved again a few seconds later, there was nothing left of the cloud.

Takeo swallowed, a cold chill running through his body. "We come back when he's asleep?"

Tao laughed weakly. "How about not at all tonight...?"

"He...probably won't mind," M-21 said carefully, eyeing the aura as it twisted around the ceiling, "as long as we go to work tomorrow."

If they were wrong though... Takeo couldn't quite suppress a shudder.

"He would have known we were here as soon as we opened the door, right?" Tao mused.

Right. "He hasn't called us yet, so we're getting out of here before he changes his mind."

Together, they fled as quickly and as quietly as they could. 

* * *

><p>Soooo... Who distracted the kids and cleaned the plates that night? Uh-oh.<p>

I once had a small plotbunny about how Frankenstein cleaned his house - it decided that it was through his aura. X3


	10. Settle

**Summary**: Time passes without M-21 realising it.

Set in chapter 113. Thank you Ningen for telling me! :D

Stupid pronouns. :P

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Settle<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>The sun was warm at M-21's back, fallen leaves rustling as they fell, caught by a brief gust of wind. In front of him, children at Ye Ren High School engaged in P.E., their laughter and chatter drifting over to him.<p>

There was a soft exhalation beside M-21, and he turned his head to see the janitor, leaning on his broom as he watched the children as well. M-21 hid a frown – how had he gotten so close without him noticing? Except, M-21 realised, he _had _registered the janitor approaching him – he just hadn't thought it was something to worry about.

"You've settled in well," the janitor commented, a small smile curving his lips.

He thought so? M-21 wasn't so sure, so he didn't say anything.

The janitor nodded, straightening his back before looking at him, the smile still present. "You're more confident. Back when you started, you looked like you thought you didn't belong here."

Which…M-21 still felt sometimes (he was an experiment that was played with just to see the results of what they had done to him; what business did he have in the normal world, with a regular job?) but those moments had started to fade. The janitor was right; he was more comfortable compared to a number of weeks ago.

…He had already been working here for weeks now? That was the longest amount of time he'd ever spent in one place after he and M-24 began carrying out the Union's assignments.

M-21 let loose a shaky breath and almost missed the janitor leaving. As soon as the janitor was far enough away, M-21 headed in the opposite direction, pretending to patrol the grounds, but in reality, his mind spun, paying no attention to his surroundings.

He had never stayed for this long before. Normally, when he had been with M-24, they stayed in the country for no longer than a week before they left again, their mission complete and already heading for their next destination. It hadn't been good to linger, especially after blood had been spilled.

M-21 gritted his teeth, his heart clenching at the memories. They'd never stayed long enough to really _see _a place; they viewed where they were as a temporary accommodation before leaving, not taking a single look back. The only thing they had needed was each other. But now…

M-24 would have liked it here; M-21 was sure of it. The children would call him 'big brother' (or probably 'Mister'; he wouldn't mind either way) and they'd work together here, watching over all the children and…

M-21 shuttered those thoughts away, trying to slam a lid on his emotions. There wasn't – there wasn't anything he could do about it now, no matter how much he wanted it.

Taking an unsteady breath, M-21 brought his attention back to his job and started to patrol properly.

There wasn't anything he could do about how much it _hurt_ either.

* * *

><p>For the prompt, 'Noblesse, M-21 &amp; M-24, around the world'.<p> 


	11. Checking

**Summary**: Shinwoo, Ik-han and Yuna see a suspicious person on their way home; Shinwoo knows what to do.

Set in the middle of season one.

Wavered between writing this in pure dialogue or in my usual style. Pure dialogue won out. :3 And then when I looked at the finished result…I added in description. XD;;

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Checking<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Shinwoo grinned up at the sky, lifting his hands to let them rest behind his head. "Ehehe, you're getting better at playing!" And Yuna was – her score wasn't keeping even, but she'd at least been able to kill him and Ik-han a few times.<p>

Yuna smiled. "Thank you. I'm still not as good as you yet," she admitted, but her expression didn't change, which was good.

"You'll get better the more you play." Beside him, Ik-han pushed his glasses up his nose, smirking. "Though Shinwoo's played a lot and still can't beat my score."

Shinwoo sent him a challenging glare. "Yeah? We'll see about next time." He'd been helping Yuna so of course his score would have suffered!

He and Ik-han stopped when they realised that Yuna wasn't walking alongside them anymore. Shinwoo turned around to see her staring at something in the shadows. "Um… Who's that?" she said nervously.

"Who's – oh. He doesn't look very steady on his feet," Ik-han said quietly. Both Shinwoo and Ik-han moved so that they stood next to Yuna, ready to grab her and run, just in case.

"No, he doesn't," Shinwoo agreed. The mister was lumbering on his feet, shuffling for a few steps before stopping and then shuffling forward again. His head was down, like he didn't have the strength to keep it up. Shinwoo hummed, really giving the man a once over, an idea forming in his head. "Do you think he's a zombie?"

"Ack!" Ik-han squawked, whirling to stare at him. "Why do you think _that?_"

Wasn't it obvious? "The weirdly coloured skin, the dragging feet, the blank look on his face-"

"Shhhh! He'll hear you!"

"-But he's not shooting laser beams out of his eyes." Now that the mister was in the streetlight, Shinwoo could see that he _did _have whites in his eyes. So maybe he wasn't exactly the same as the other mister. Another idea popped into Shinwoo's head. "I know!" He scanned the street for what he needed and spotted one instantly. It'd be a great way to check!

"…You know what?" Ik-han said warily as Shinwoo dashed over to it.

"A-Ah!"

"Hey, wait-! Put that _trashcan down!_"

If the mister didn't react to him picking it up, at least he definitely had a weapon on hand this time!

* * *

><p>*sneeeeeerk* I was writing this for a 'Any fandom, any characters, "The hell those aren't zombies!"' prompt but yeeeeah, don't think it fits it that well. XDD;<p>

(Just in case, the guy _is_ a zombie. X3)


	12. Reasons to Learn

**Summary**: Tao thinks Takeo should learn a very important skill.

Contains Takeo/Tao

Set after chapter 200.

Oh god, I had _far_ too much fun with this! XDDD

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Reasons to Learn<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Takeo's eyebrow twitched. "<em>Why <em>do I have to learn how to dance?"

Across from him, leaning on his computer table, Tao merely grinned. "Because," he said, holding up a finger, "you never know when you're going to need it."

Right. There was no such thing as useless knowledge. Takeo knew that, but it wasn't like-

"And," Tao continued, raising a second finger, "do _you _want to explain to the Boss you can't do what he asked because you can't dance?"

…Right. "Fine," Takeo gritted out, sighing. Tao had a point, and learning shouldn't take _that _long. "What do I have to do?"

"Awesome!" Tao laughed, spinning around and clicking something on the computer. Takeo should have known Tao had everything prepared. The first few notes warbled from the computer before settling on a smooth rhythm, low and soft.

Takeo watched Tao approach him, his grin still firmly in place. "How do you know how to do dance anyway?" It wasn't something they'd been taught when they were in DA-5, but with the amount of time Tao spent on the internet…

"Heh. Miss Seira showed me a couple of things. But it was mostly stuff I found myself." When he was a couple of steps away, Tao stopped, looking Takeo up and down, frowning slightly. "Hm."

Takeo raised an eyebrow. "What."

Tao snickered, flapping a hand. "Well, we're both guys, but I don't think you'd be dancing with one." He tapped his cheek with a finger. "I guess that means I'm going to have to be the woman."

Resignation grew in Takeo as he tried to understand what Tao was saying. "Why does that make a difference?"

"Because," Tao drew out, "the guy has to hold the woman a certain way, and vice versa."

And really, Takeo should know to not ask questions anymore when it involved Tao. "Just so long as you don't pull out a dress," he muttered, shaking his head.

At that, Tao snickered again, closing the distance between them. "You don't have to worry about that," Tao said as he started manoeuvring Takeo's hands without asking, placing Takeo's hand on his shoulder. "I don't have one."

…Why did that sound like if Tao _did _he would-

"We can ask Boss to make one if you want!"

Takeo _glared_.

"What?" Tao asked guilelessly, blinking at him. The act of innocence was completely ruined by Tao's wide grin. "It'd probably only take him a few hours."

"And he'd ask _why _we needed a dress!" Takeo shot back.

"Really? I think he'd be ecstatic at having a new project to play with and-"

Takeo tightened his hold on Tao's shoulder, dragged him close and kissed him. Because that was the _only _way he was going to be able to get Tao to shut up.

When Takeo pulled his head away, Tao's expression was pleased, but not surprised. "…You were doing that on purpose," Takeo said flatly.

"Heh. Just a little," Tao admitted, settling in closer.

Rolling his eyes, Takeo asked, "Are you going to teach me how to dance or was that just an excuse?"

Tao laughed. "All right, all right. Okay, so we have to hold each other like this…"

* * *

><p>For the prompt 'Noblesse, TakeoTao, learning to dance'


	13. Translate

**Summary**: When Takeo neared Tao and his words were completely unintelligible, Takeo wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Translate<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Tao tapping away at his pocket computer wasn't an unusual sight. Tao muttering under his breath with a concentrated expression on his face was normal too. But when Takeo neared Tao and the words continued to stay unintelligible, Takeo wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.<p>

Tao leaned back and tilted his head at Takeo. A stream of words fell from his lips and Takeo didn't recognise a single one. It sounded harsher than Korean, more guttural and less flowing.

Takeo eyed him for a second while Tao continued to look at him expectantly. That look was a little too familiar, used when Tao was waiting for a reaction to his teasing.

"…Learning a new language?"

"Yep!"

Figured.

"I could tea-"

"No!" Takeo practically shouted as soon as he realised what Tao was suggesting, his ears burning. "Once was enough!"

"And look at how fluent you are now!"

Yes, fluent, but he had also used words that he'd had no intention or idea he was using!

"I won't tell you the wrong translations this time," Tao promised.

"_This _time?" Takeo repeated, eyebrows raised.

Takeo didn't bother to explain why Tao was howling with laughter when M-21 came into the room to investigate the noise; that was normal for Tao too.

* * *

><p>For the prompt 'any, any, speaking in tongues'<p> 


	14. Run

**Summary**: He wasn't sure where he was going, but he knew he had to get away.

Contains vague references to human experimentation. SPOILERS FOR 245 OH GOD.

Written for the prompt, 'Existence well what does it matter?/I exist on the best terms I can/The past is now part of my future/The present is well out of hand/Heart and soul, one will burn' OH MY GOD. LOOKIT. JUST LOOKIT! 8D 8D 8D

This is going to be so jossed but I don't caaaaare. XD

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Run<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>M-24 coughed, stumbling into the wall, seeing the bodies of the agents slumped in front of him. He couldn't help a weak chuckle, feeling blood trickling from his throat; he was supposed to be the experimental material, the one who was thrown away like trash when he became useless – he <em>had<em> been thrown away, being used until his body had refused more changes.

Feeling a shudder course through his body, M-24 closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. He needed to get away – he'd escaped from the lab, but that meant nothing if they dragged him back.

Opening his eyes and pushing himself away from the wall, M-24 started lumbering his way out of the alley. He needed to hide, to stay out of sight.

He wall-jumped up to the closest roof, his stomach twisting as he found that far easier than he used to, the jumps faster and longer. As soon as he landed, M-24 ran to the other side of the rooftop and jumped onto the next rooftop.

When his body demanded him to stop, M-24 did, lungs heaving, sweat trickling down his sides. But as far as he could tell, he hadn't been followed. Scanning the area once more, his ears straining for the sound of pursuit (only distant cars so far, getting further way), M-24 considered his options.

He had to run, but this was the _Union_ he was talking about. Where could he hide that the Union couldn't find him? …M-21 had escaped too, though. M-24 couldn't help the twist of hope in his stomach, his breath shortening. M-21 had gotten away – if he hadn't, Crombel would have told him, brought them back together to show how futile it was to try and leave.

Which meant M-21 had to be alive. Somewhere. Was he even in Korea now? M-24 shook his head, trying to get rid of his thoughts. How long had it been? There was no way to tell how much time had passed in the lab, the days melting into each other of tests, injections, surgery and recovering from them all. M-21 had to have built a life for himself now, maybe with the children, possibly with those two men.

He didn't know and he should stop thinking about it now. If he were to crash back into M-21's life, if M-21 had a settled life that was free of the Union, how could he bring the Union's attention back to his comrade?

No. M-24 shook his head. No matter how much he wanted to see M-21 again, he couldn't do that to him.

Pulling his hood further down on his head, M-24 hunched his shoulders and started moving again.


	15. Kidnapped

**Summary**: Just your typical run-of-the-mill kidnapping plot; nothing to worry about.

Set after season 5. Vague spoilers for it. Though not actually canon-compliant. orz

Written for the prompt, 'just your typical run-of-the-mill kidnapping plot; nothing to worry about.'

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Kidnapped<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Seira's gaze swept over the living room as soon as she returned home from school. The fact that she did it again, a small crease between her eyebrows, worried Tao.<p>

"Hey, Miss Seira," he said, waving at her. "Something wrong?"

She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Regis hasn't returned yet?"

Tao blinked, straightening, and he heard everyone else in the room stop what they were doing as well. School had finished hours ago and if Regis hadn't gone with the children to the PC Bang and hadn't come straight home either...

He was in trouble.

Tao stood up, digging into his pocket for his computer. It wouldn't take long to find out what had happened and where Regis had been taken, and once they had his location, they were getting him _back_.

(And once he was, he was going to be teased on _finally_ joining the rest of them in experiencing being kidnapped; it had taken him long enough!)

* * *

><p>Wherein I forget Regis got kidnapped in the second season. orz I'm counting the third season as Seira being kidnappedbeing taken somewhere against her will.


	16. Collect

**Summary**: Tao makes small-talk over the comms.

Set after season 4.

Hellooooo overuse of italics, yet again. *sigh*

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Collect<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>"<em>Anyone wanna make a bet on who's going to be adopted next?<em>" Tao asked, and M-21 shook his head as he tore through an alley before finding the step-ups he needed to reach the roof.

"_Number 1…_" Takeo sighed.

"_What? It's a valid question!_"

"_They're trying to kill us,_" Regis added, his voice dry.

"_And?_" Tao said flippantly. "_We tried to do that to each other before we got to know each other._"

…That was a good point. M-21 looked around and spotted the group of Union modified humans on another rooftop. "Found them," he told the others, already moving towards them. "East of the school." A little too close to Shinwoo's house for comfort and he hoped he hadn't been kidnapped again.

"_Got it, Number 4! Everyone, converge there!_" A brief pause. "_What're your thoughts on this, Number 4? Number 5?_"

"_We didn't try to kill each other directly,_" Seira said, a slight amused tone in her voice.

"_Ah, details, details!_" M-21 could just imagine Tao waving his hand at that. "_Number 4, you've been suspiciously quiet this entire time_."

He snorted, seeing Takeo leap up onto a rooftop to his right. That wasn't unusual.

When he still didn't say anything, Tao said, "_Number 4, you're holding out on us, aren't you?_" There was no mistaking the utter _glee_ in Tao's voice. "_C'mon, spill!_"

"…The orange-haired woman," he eventually said, knowing Tao would keep asking if he didn't answer, and everyone would know if he lied. "She's…different from the others." He couldn't quite place _how_, not with the brief interactions they'd had, but it was enough.

"_Oooh_." And then Tao laughed. "_Of course you'd know who _he'd_ pick, being the first one in and all._"

That wasn't – it was _true _but that didn't mean – M-21 sighed, not bothering to clear anything up.

"_Do you think we'll eventually have the full rainbow?_" Tao mused, and Regis _spluttered_.

"_What is_ that_ supposed mean?_"

"_Well, we've got black, yellow –blond, but that's being a little too specific for this conversation- black with white, purple, white with black, white, and grey. You add in the orange-haired lady, and we're starting to get a set!_"

…Tao was talking about their hair colours…

"_She hasn't been adopted yet,_" Takeo said.

"'Yet'," Tao repeated. "_But if Number 4 thinks_ he'll_ take her in, he probably will!_"

M-21 really hoped their opponents hadn't been able to hack into their communications (Tao had created them, but there was still a slim chance of it happening), because it was awkward enough going to fight and attempt to kill them knowing the conversation they'd just had; if their _opponents_ knew what they'd just been talking about…

* * *

><p>Written for the prompt, 'Some people collect stamps or beer mats; Mum collected waifs and strays.'<p>

Potential new family member was originally blue-haired, but then I remembered Mary… *snerk* So then the choice was between blue, orange, and _green_. ORZ


	17. Welcome to the Dark Side

**Summary**: Oh, what can result from saying something out loud without realising who's listening.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Welcome to the Dark Side<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Tao hummed as he rooted around the fridge, feeling thirsty, but not sure what to pick. There was Boss' healthy drinks, the soft drinks bought for the children, and then there was the mishmash of stuff that the rest of the household ended up bringing home, if only to try at least once. And he was also craving cookies. Hmm, how did that phrase go…?<p>

"Come to the dark side - we have cookies." Tao grinned, finally picking the small can at the back, and emerged victorious – to see _him _peering at him from the tea maker machine.

"Oh, heh, hi," Tao said, waving with his can in hand. He must have missed hearing him approach while he was inside the fridge.

_He _nodded.

Tao blinked at him for a second, not understanding why he was nodding, until Tao remembered what he'd just said out loud.

Uh. "I wasn't actually – it's a phrase…?" Except _he_ was still gazing at him, waiting, and Tao realised what he _really _wanted.

"You want cookies too, huh?" Tao said, one corner of his mouth already quirking up before _he _had finished nodding a second time.

Tao glanced at the living room door. Then back at the kitchen. The grin he had encompassed his entire _face_. Well, the others couldn't stop him if _he _had given him free reign of the kitchen.

"All right!" Tao said, bowing to him. "I'll make you the best batch of cookies ever!" Maybe even better than Boss', if the others didn't interrupt him while he was mixing the ingredients.

_He_ watched him as Tao swept around the kitchen, grabbing everything he needed and dumping it on the counter, making sure he had everything (and had donned his apron – wouldn't want to make a mess of himself!) before he started to throw things into the bowl. Tao kept a constant stream of chatter while he did so, about what he was adding, what he felt like adding, asking _his _opinions of certain ingredients and dropping them in or not depending on his reactions.

It was afterwards, while Tao was cleaning the counter and _he _was staring at the oven as the cookies had nearly finished baking, the sweet smell permeating the entire room, that the living room door burst open and the rest of the household tumbled into the room.

"Tao! What are you-"

"You know you aren't-"

"_He _said I could!" Tao said, waving towards him.

Everyone stared at him, before turning to _him_, who nodded back.

"M-Master," Boss was uncertainly, coming closer, "you shouldn't have anything Tao has cooked…"

Which Tao thought was a little unfair – no-one had actually tasted what he'd cooked before they'd banned him from the kitchen! It just hadn't _looked _appetising; so long as it was actually edible, that was what mattered!

Tao's pocket computer beeped, and he slipped on a pair of oven gloves as he walked towards the oven.

"Tao…"

He had barely pulled the tray out before he saw _his _hand slide into view and pick up a cookie.

"Ah-" They were burning hot, waves of heat rising off them – but that didn't seem to bother _him _as he bit into it, the crunch like a gunshot in the silent room.

Tao was already considering it an achievement when he swallowed, taking another bite straight after. It wasn't long until he'd completely finished it, and then he reached for a second one.

Ahaha! Success!

"Master… You…like his cooking?" Boss was blinking at _him _in confusion, before Boss slowly looked at the still unwashed mixing bowl sitting in the sink. Tao knew that look. It was the look Boss had before something was completely dismantled and scrutinised from every angle until Boss could remake it from scratch without glancing at his notes.

Tao cackled, suddenly remembering why he'd made the cookies in the first place. "Welcome to the dark side!"

* * *

><p>Written for the prompt 'I came to the dark side, I was promised there would be cookies.' Blaming Kaelin and phireye for this. :P<p>

…How much sugar and sweetener must Tao have put in for Rai to like it… No, I have no idea what the other ingredients were, and I'm not thinking about it! XD;;


	18. Treat

**Summary**: "Tao, what are you doing?" "I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing."

Set post season…three?

* * *

><p><strong>Treat<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Takeo frowned when he saw Tao passing coloured bowls of <em>something<em> around to the household, because the quick look he'd seen couldn't have been right. "Tao, what are you doing?"

"I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing." Tao handed him a bowl and when Takeo glanced down, he could see his eyes hadn't lied and the contents were exactly what he thought it was.

"It's December," Takeo said helplessly, looking up again, knowing the logic would be useless against him. "It's minus ten degrees outside. There's a _blizzard_ outside." All true, a flurry of white swirling past their window. The children hadn't been able to come over, the weather keeping them at home.

"And this is _ice cream_, Takeo." Tao drew himself up, sounding like Takeo had honestly affronted him. It would have worked better if he wasn't still holding a bright blue bowl out for…

Uh.

_He_ took the bowl from Tao and peered at it.

"Have you had ice cream before?" Tao asked the nobles. "That's vanilla flavour and I've got a bunch of other flavours in the freezer if you want something else."

Takeo heard someone sniff (Regis, probably), but his attention was on _him_, slightly worried at how he would react to it. They didn't have to worry that much about _him_ taking to it like he had ramen since he hadn't fixated on any other foods, but there was always a chance he could.

_He_ gathered a bit of ice cream onto his spoon and brought it close to his mouth. When he slipped it into his mouth, his eyebrows twitched up and then furrowed slightly.

"Ah, knew I forgot something!" Tao came back over, a bottle of chocolate syrup in his hand. "This'll make it even sweeter."

_He_ held his bowl out and watched as Tao drizzled it all over the ice cream until it was swimming. "Done! Try it out now."

The next time _he_ had a bite, he made a soft sound of surprise and Tao beamed at him.

"Ice cream, Tao?" Frankenstein said at the living room doorway, an eyebrow raised as he pulled down his sleeves.

"Yup!" Tao said, turning to him. "It's warm in _here_ so it doesn't make a big difference what's happening outside, right?"

Frankenstein chuckled, coming into the room and took the bowl Tao offered him. "No, it doesn't."

His task complete, Tao wriggled in between Takeo and M-21 before they could get out of his way properly. As they got settled again, Miss Seira switched on the TV and they started to decide what they were going to watch while they ate.

* * *

><p>Written for the prompt, "author's choice, author's choice, ice cream!"<p>

-10C is 14F.


	19. Knowing the Odds

**Summary**: Tao knows the odds.

Implied spoilers for 313.

* * *

><p><strong>Knowing the Odds<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Tao knows the odds. The ocean's a big place, so it'll take Boss, <em>him<em> and Rajak a while to find Miss Seira, Regis and Rael. If they're even somewhere in the ocean and not, like, a deserted town in Switzerland or something.

Still, it's been three days since they've left and there's not a single message on Tao's phone. Which is unfair and he knows it - unless there's some noble ability Boss hasn't told them about where they can walk on water, it's going to take _time_ to track down where they are. That, and he knows all too well the chance of the signal being intercepted and giving away a person's position.

It still worries him, and he can see it in Takeo and M-21's faces too. Karias is more confident than them, and okay, the rescue team has a Clan leader, a human that can stand toe to toe with Elders, and the _Noblesse_, but Karias hasn't seen _him_ collapse from exhaustion or seen _his_ hands shake while he holds a cup of tea while he pretends he's fine. Because Boss' Master doesn't want them to worry about him and will gladly give his life for them to continue living.

He, Takeo and M-21 are far too aware Boss' Master is fallible.

Tao hears a muffled boom, like something just broke the sound barrier, and he turns his head towards the source, frowning.

"Tao? What is it?"

Probably nothing, he's about to say. Except he didn't hear something before it to warn him, and that's when Tao's skin prickles.

He's already facing towards where _that_ came from too.

He's facing east.

There's been four other times Tao's felt this particular presence before and his stomach twists because he knows what that means.

He doesn't need to say anything or even look at Takeo or M-21; they turn as one to go back home. Once they're there, they'll be preparing the lab.

It may take a couple more days for the others to return, but the lab will be ready when they do.

But Tao knows the odds; there's a slim chance of _him_ being conscious when they get back, and who knows what's had happened to the rest of them...

* * *

><p>Auuuuugh, too many characters, two groups, and they're spaced out enough in ages and familiarity that it's just AWKWARD on how to refer to them. orz;;;<p>

Written for the prompt 'any, any, "Happily ever after" is both illogical and impossible.'


	20. Stay

**Summary**: It had been a long time since Frankenstein founded this particular school.

Set post-series.

For Trope Bingo.

Thanks to Key for her help with this.

* * *

><p><strong>Stay<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Frankenstein surveyed the playground, watching the children play or walk around. He had taken a break from the paperwork, needing a breath of fresh air that wasn't coming in from his window.<p>

A restless feeling had settled in his chest and no matter what he did, nothing dislodged it. It had been a number of years since he had founded this particular school, and maybe it was time he moved on again; it was best to do that before his lack of aging became obvious. In this day and age where it was so much easier to find background information from a look, technology now infused in the body… Frankenstein had kept ahead of technology's development of course, and it interested him how one of Yuna's descendants had taken to the technology of this generation.

"Principal Park."

"Hm?" Frankenstein turned to see Min-seo walking towards him, a student he didn't recognise following her. "Ah, Ms.–" He blinked, realising why she was bringing the student to him. "My apologies; it slipped my mind that you were arriving today." Frankenstein smiled at the transfer student in apology, not understanding why he was so distracted. It seemed it_was_ time for him to move on.

The transfer student, Lee Aedda, had dark hair cropped shorter than what was popular with the students at the moment and she had been watching the other students with interest before she focused on him.

Frankenstein knew that expression, and Aedda's eyes widened in recognition. "F-" Her expression flickered a second later, confusion replacing it. "Principal Park." Her voice had a slight uncertain tilt.

Frankenstein smiled again, pushing down his own shock and confusion, not letting his principal mask slip. "Thank you, Ms. Namgung, I'll take it from here.

Min-seo bowed, leaving Aedda with Frankenstein. So that was why he had been so restless recently: it had been 820 years since he had last seen Master, even if he hadn't been conscious of the time. He hadn't needed to count the years, not in the same why as before when he had seen Master enter eternal sleep with his own eyes.

"I'll give you a tour of the school, and then introduce you to your teachers, Ms. Lee."

Aedda studied his face and then gave him a small smile, bowing, starting to follow him.

Master had reincarnated. As a human. Aedda had a family, hopefully people who cared for her, and now that she was here, she would hopefully make friends quickly.

He wouldn't leave this high school; this time, Frankenstein would try his hardest to give Aedda the life he had wanted to give Master.

* * *

><p>For the immortalityreincarnation square. I was originally going to write M-21 being the one who reincarnated, but I eventually decided for Rai after talking with Key.


	21. Forging a new Path

**Summary**: Frankenstein narrowed his eyes, remembering some information that he had found earlier but then discounted as unneeded. He had kept his notes on it, however, in case he changed his mind.

Contains death

Set pre-series.

Alternate interpretation of events.

Blame Key for feeding this plotbunny, pffft.

Written for either the 'deathfic' square or 'first time /last time' for Trope Bingo.

* * *

><p><strong>Forging a New Path<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>No! Frankenstein snarled, wanting to hurl the Dark Spear at the wall, its silver edge gleaming in the candlelight. Years of research had gone into its creation and <em>this<em> was what the Union had made? Its strength was barely above his own; he should have known trusting the Union to make anything of merit was a waste of time – he never should have sold them his data. Tch.

'_You…?_ You_ were the cause?_'

'_You're why-_'

'_It's _your_ fault-!_'

Frankenstein shook his head to ward off the souls trapped in the Dark Spear. "Yes, but you were from villages – your souls could protect the whole of humanity." But they couldn't right now, not with their current strength.

Howls of outrage slammed into his skull.

Baring his teeth and bracing a hand against his temple, Frankenstein shoved the souls down as best as he could, still feeling their clawing fingers at his mind.

Dammit, the only way he could make the Dark Spear stronger was if he added more souls to it, but if he did that, it would also add to the annoying voices distracting him.

There had to be…

Frankenstein narrowed his eyes, remembering some information that he had found earlier but then discounted as unneeded. He had kept his notes on it, however, in case he changed his mind.

He had thought there would be no need for it, but now it did not seem to be the case.

Flexing his hand, Frankenstein dismissed the Dark Spear, the souls still a constant undercurrent to his own thoughts, and strode towards one of his lesser used rooms.

xOx

Frankenstein exhaled, putting the final touches to his summoning circle. It had taken some time, but his research was complete; with the knowledge he now had, he would be able to call a demon.

'_Never should_-'

'-_make things worse-_'

He quashed the souls' voices with practiced ease, still feeling their discontent no matter what he did.

_Why_ couldn't they understand that they were part of something bigger now – they should be _happy_ about their contribution to the protection of humanity.

Frankenstein stood up, putting his thoughts away, and double-checked everything was where it should be. It was, and he nodded in satisfaction.

It was done.

Summoning the demon was the easy part – the unknown factor was what the demon would ask for in return for its power. Answering a question he should be able to do with little difficulty, and if it asked for a soul, he had more than enough at his disposal.

If it asked for his specific soul, he would gladly pay his price to protect humanity.

Frankenstein took in a breath and exhaled slowly, preparing himself.

Then he lifted his chin and started incanting the spell that would summon the demon, the foreign sounds flowing off his tongue.

The chill was obvious straight away, his skin prickling at a presence building. He continued, his voice stronger now that he knew he was doing something, his breath becoming more visible with each word, the shadows growing stronger in the room.

When the final hissing syllable left his mouth, a bang shook the room and Frankenstein raised an arm to protect his eyes at the blast of aura that whirled out of nowhere.

He peered over his arm when it settled, anticipation thrumming through his body at what he would see, at the fact he had successfully summoned a demon.

The being hovering above the circle was formless, its edge flickering like candlelight. It appeared more solid than a cloud however, its body a royal purple. At the top, two lights gleamed and Frankenstein would have thought they were eyes except the shape of them was more like the afterimages burned into his eyes after seeing a lightning strike.

"Demon!" he called out, lowering his arm fully, "I a-"

"Mine!" The demon lunged at him, claw-tipped arms aimed towards him forming out of its mass.

"Wh-" It moved faster than he expected, but while he felt the impact of it cashing into him, it disappeared, like-

Frankenstein's knees thudded on the flood, surprise taking their strength as he felt a presence wrap around his mind, far stronger than the souls inside the Dark Spear could make.

He couldn't understand the way the demon thought either, only feeling impressions of thoughts, images of its wants…

Frankenstein sucked in a breath when he realised what the demon's plan was. He didn't feel the air entering his lungs, the demon suffocating his mind, planning to snuff his soul and take his body for its own. And once it had that…

No. He snarled, summoning the Dark Spear, feeling the wave of souls swell in his mind, their confusion at this new presence.

'_What-_'

'_Who-_'

'_-demon!_'

The demon hadn't expected the souls, easing its hold on his mind, and with that reprieve, he shoved the demon's plan at the souls, how it would lay waste to whatever was in its path, more directed than any mutant.

Frankenstein had never summoned the Dark Spear since the first time, but it was _satisfying_ to feel the souls charge at the demon, their fury and protectiveness not directed at him for once.

If he could convince them to work together, to direct their anger towards the nobles instead…

The demon howled, the souls taking it apart rather than driving it out, their sheer numbers overwhelming its power and Frankenstein snarled, moving to destroy it before it retaliated.

He only had enough time to notice a number of the souls weren't attacking the demon, their focus on _him_ before the first three slammed into him.

No! What were they doing? How could they attack him when the demon – He lost count as more souls turned their attention to him and the last thing Frankenstein was aware of was a surge of strength from the demon, its presence flooding his mind again.

xOx

He gasped, his eyes snapping open, his hand reflexively gripping something, his head throbbing.

Where…? What…? He blinked, trying to understand what had happened.

'_No! It fused-!_'

'_Have to stop-_'

He started and then quelled the voices (souls) with a shake of his head, sighing in the silence of their absence. The headache didn't abate, but at least now he could take stock in peace.

The circle in front of him was familiar and he pursed his lips. It was for…summoning a demon, he knew that much, the information slotting into place. It mustn't have worked.

As for himself… Frankenstein, yes, that was it. He got to his feet, dusting off his knees with a hand. So he could strike off attempting to do that to gain more power.

Sighing, Frankenstein studied the Dark Spear, its purple flickering edge, his transformed hand before he dismissed it. His hand changed slowly, the purple fading at a sluggish rate, his claws the last to change. Had it always been like that…? He couldn't remember.

The gaps in his memories were troublesome, but they seemed to filling themselves. And if they didn't… He scanned the books around him. He could fill them himself.


	22. Want

**Summary**: Frankenstein wants a change of clothes after sparring with Ragar.

Pre-series.

Written for the trop bingo square, 'handcuffed/bound together'. Iiii'm being a little liberal with it and taking it more abstractly.

* * *

><p><strong>Want<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Frankenstein exhaled as he entered Master's mansion after a spar with Ragar. He could feel his steady improvement against the noble compared to their first fight, but still, it didn't seem like it was enough; the Dark Spear continued trying to consume him, no matter how much control he developed.<p>

His wounds had healed already, leaving only trails of dried blood to mark their place, as well as cuts and tears in his clothes. He had grown accustomed to mending his clothes after a spar (especially after Ragar's), but he sometimes wished he had Master's ability to change clothes with the flick of a hand.

…Though, now that they had contracted with each other, he could now have that ability.

Taking in a breath, Frankenstein closed his eyes and concentrated on his clothes, not certain what he should be doing. Master had discarded his own shirt, changing it so that it was Frankenstein's so maybe that was the process. Frankenstein imagined a new suit in place of his current one, but after a few seconds he had to admit that he was unsuccessful when nothing happened.

Amusement.

'_Ah, Master!_' Embarrassment briefly heated Frankenstein's cheeks. Master must have felt all that.

'_You made it too complicated,_' Master said, not mentioning his reaction. '_Think of what you want._'

What he wanted? The holes gone. Frowning slightly, Frankenstein concentrated on those areas, his body telling him where they were by the coolness it felt in comparison to the rest of it.

He sucked in a breath at some of his energy draining away but he also saw one cut on his sleeve seal itself. The moment passed and Frankenstein checked the rest of his clothes – while dirt still remained, they were whole again.

Hm, though convenient, he would try to do that only when necessary.

More amusement.

'_Thank you, Master,_' he said, making his way towards him.

'_You're welcome._'

Frankenstein was halfway to him when he sent another question down their link. '_Master, I have been meaning to ask you – how did you know what I was wearing when I first arrived?_' Even if Master _had_ seen him as he entered, he couldn't have known what he'd originally been wearing.

'_It's what you wanted to wear._'

Ah, of course.


	23. Kiss

**Summary**: "Yo, M, do you wanna kiss?"

Post-season 4.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiss<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>M-21 was having tea in the living room when someone's arms went around his shoulders. He tightened his grip on his mug to make sure he didn't drop it in surprise.<p>

"Yo, M, do you wanna kiss?"

Of course it was Tao.

He raised his eyebrow at the question. "And you're just giving them to people today?"

Tao nodded, his hair brushing M-21's cheek. "Yup! So do you want one or not? Better hurry up before I give them all away and _you_ don't get any."

He considered it for a second and then sighed. "Fine, give me one, then." M-21 raised his free hand.

Tao reached over and balanced the chocolate on top of the hand holding the mug instead. M-21 wasn't sure _where_ Tao had pulled it from apart from up his sleeve, but it didn't look partially melted…

He took it off his wrist. "Are you ever going to _give_ me one?" Tao had the habit of putting the chocolate or whatever he was offering on anything that _wasn't_ the outstretched hand.

"Maaaybe. If I feel like it."

So n-

Warmth on his cheek.

"Muuuah!"

Tao bounced away laughing as M-21 threw the chocolate at his head. "Love ya, M!"

And Tao was already out the room. Rolling his eyes, M-21 set his tea down to find where the chocolate had gone before Frankenstein found it.

It had rolled into the other room and once he'd picked it up, M-21 got his phone out and texted the others to warn them what Tao was planning on doing.

* * *

><p>Written for otpprompt: 'Imagine Person A of your OTP asking Person B if they want a kiss. Person B blushes and nervously asks, 'Huh? Wh-what do you mean?' (Or something along those lines). Person A then hands a Hershey's Kiss to Person B. (Bonus if they end up sharing it with an actual kiss.)'<p>

I didn't put this as M-21/Tao because at first I wasn't sure if Tao was being serious or not, and then I figured he did this with everyone else in the house. Regis and Frankenstein also got pecks on the cheek, he gave a kiss to the back of the hand to Seira and Rai, and Takeo got a flying tackle.


	24. Interrupt

**Summary**: Tao interrupts Takeo's life like he usually does.

Contains Takeo/Tao

Written for Moto's picture here: moto-21 tumblr com / post / 102440589941 /

So I needed something to scribble out that wasn't Twists of Fate…

And I keep forgetting I'm using the collection for stuff that was inspired by prompts and pictures, whoops.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Interrupt<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Takeo sat on his floor as he maintained his guns, picking up the scrap of newspaper to clean off the excess oil when his door opened behind him, someone striding in without announcing their presence.<p>

It had to be Tao and Takeo turned his head. "He-"

Tao put his hand on his shoulder and swivelled him around. Before Takeo could do anything, Tao plopped himself into his lap, wrapping his arms around Takeo's shoulders, his legs around Takeo's waist.

For a second Takeo didn't move. Then he sighed, dropping the newspaper to the side and returning the hug. "...Do I want to know?" It wasn't often Tao did this, but there tended to be a reason on the occasions he did.

"No." Tao's reply was muffled against his shoulder, his breathing sharper than usual.

"All right." He patted Tao's back, guessing Tao wouldn't mind the oil stains he left.

As the minutes ticked past, the tenseness in Tao's muscles relaxed and his breathing began to even out.

"Hmmn…" Tao nuzzled the underside of Takeo's jaw. "Thanks."

He smiled. "It's fine. Are you feeling better now?"

Tao nodded. "Yup!" He disentangled himself from Takeo and hopped to his feet, stretching with a groan. "And now that I am I can-" His expression crumpled. "-get back to grinding after losing _all that data_! I'd been so high level too!"

…Ah, it had been about a game.

"Or I could hack into the servers and restore my account," Tao muttered under his breath. "Let's see them catch me 'gold farming' _this_ time, hah! That was all hard-earned gold!"

Tao left Takeo's room, still grumbling, and, shaking his head at Tao's antics, Takeo went back to maintaining his guns. If he was quick enough, he'd be able to finish before Tao came back and dragged him into helping him.


	25. Interrupt Part 2

**Summary**: Tao's _trying_ to get some work done.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Interrupt<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Damn, the program wasn't doing what Tao wanted. He sighed, reaching for his coffee.<p>

Which was cold, _bleh_. How long had it been sitting there?

Ah, fine, whatever. He could find the problem line of code without it.

"Tao."

He twitched in surprise, turning his head towards the familiar voice. He hadn't heard the door open… At least, he was _fairly_ sure he hadn't. He could hear the electricity whizzing around the room though.

A hand on his shoulder and he smiled up at Takeo's face. "What's up?"

"_You_," Takeo said with exasperation.

Huh?

Takeo sighed, patting his shoulder. "You should go to bed; it's late."

"It's not!" Tao protested. Though it had been a while since he'd checked the clock… "And I just hafta fix this _one_ thing-!"

"You said that three hours ago."

"It wasn't three hours ago." Was it? Hm... Anyway, less talk. He turned away from Takeo, getting back to work. The sooner he did this, the faster he could be finished. Unless he introduced another mistake in the code, but then it was one step closer to-

Something blocked his view and then he was lifted up and moving. "Ack! Noooo!" Tao squirmed against Takeo, seeing his screens get further away around Takeo's shoulder. "But I was so close-!"

"You can finish it in the morning."

"But Ta-_ke_-ooooo!" he whined, trying to reach over to his computer.

"Later. You're sleeping first, even if I have to camp in your room to make sure you do."

"Mean," he grumped, stretching out in Takeo's arms, raising one hand to Takeo's hair and hair tie.

Bat bat bat.

"I'm not dropping you."

Bat bat bat.

"I know you won't." But it was fun being an annoying ass, especially when he could be _working right now_.

Though Takeo's face was kinda spinning in front of him, ow.

His head thumped against Takeo's shoulder, his hand twitching as he kept trying to play with his hair.

Takeo had to be using his speed because they got to his room way faster than they should have. A couple steps to cross the room, and Takeo was laying him down on his bed. Okay, all he had to do was wait for Takeo to leave and he could-

Takeo was pulling up a chair. Dammit.

"Whyyyy?"

"Because you were going to try and go back to work." Takeo spun the chair around and straddled it, resting his arms on the backrest.

"No…" Of course not; how could he doubt this face?

"Sleep, Tao."

"Kay…" He'd pretend to sleep, that was it. Once Takeo thought he was asleep and left, he could go back downstairs again.

Yeah, that's what he'd do.

Tao closed his eyes. He only had to do this for five minutes, that was all…

xOx

Tao blinked, and blinked a again, running at an eye; no, Takeo's sleeping image was still in front of his face. He tightened his arm and yep, wolf plushie was there, and those were his photos on his headboard too…

What was Takeo doing in his – oooh, yeah.

Hrm. He turned around to check the time and okay, he'd slept for a couple of hours now. More than usual, even.

He slipped out of bed, and it took a tiny bit of manoeuvring, but he managed to get Takeo into his bed without waking him up.

Right, okay. Tao put his hands on his hips, looking over his room. He could go downstairs and get started with work again. Except Takeo would probably groan when he woke up and saw Tao was out the room.

And Takeo was right: he could finish in the morning. After breakfast.

Humming, Tao span to leave his room. How would Takeo feel about breakfast in bed…?

* * *

><p>Inspired by Moto's pic here: moto-21 tumblr com  post / 102676524661

Still going back and forth on whether to reblog the pic and add the fic or make a new post, haha. XD;;


	26. Interrupt Part 3

**Summary**: Takeo's sleep is interrupted.

Set after season 3? I was thinking 339, but maybe not.

Again, written for Moto's pic here: moto-21 tumblr com / post / 102676524661 Thank Erokoneko for this version. X3

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong>Interrupt<strong>******

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Takeo gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was drenched in sweat, his heart thundering in his chest, his throat constricted, refusing to take in the deep breaths he wanted. It took a few struggling tries, but he was able to take in a heaving breath, his locked muscles relaxing.<p>

All he could feel was his skin tingling, like he'd been torn apart and he'd just finished healing, still being able to feel the phantom pain.

Shit. Takeo wiped wet strands of hair away from his face, his hand trembling. He wasn't going to be able to sleep again, not after that nightmare. Which was already fading, leaving bloody impressions, vague recollections of being trapped inside a lab.

He grimaced, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead. If he wasn't sleeping, what could he do instead...? He'd just finished maintaining his guns and hadn't used them since. A book? That could work. Or he could watch something, so the deafening silence would be filled as well.

That wasn't what he wanted to do though.

He pushed himself up, his blanket falling away.

Maybe...

Takeo left his room and padded over to Tao's, easing the door open. His computer was humming, running whatever program Tao had told it to, and no voice greeted him. For once Tao had gone to sleep at a decent time.

Taking a breath, Takeo snuck in, closing the door behind him.

Still nothing, and Takeo picked out a chair away from Tao's bed, a few clothes draped over the backrest.

He went over and straddled it, folding his arms over the backrest. Tao's even breathing filled his ears and it was something he could concentrate on, something he could match.

It wasn't long until the sun rose anyway, and then he could go to have breakfast.

xOx

There was someone in Tao's room. He could hear them, but they weren't doing anything, staying still.

He cracked an eye open and- "Oi, oi," he said, opening his eyes fully, "what're you doing there?"

Takeo jerked, his half-closed eyes snapping open and Tao had to lunge to stop him from falling off the chair.

He stifled a snicker, Takeo trying to focus on him. "Ah, sorry," Takeo said, "I thought I hadn't-"

"Bed," Tao said, tugging him over. "C'mon. You know it's fine." Takeo must have had a nightmare if he was in his room in the middle of the night looking like that. Tao had crawled into _his_ bed enough times looking for comfort after a bad nightmare Takeo had to know he could do the same.

Takeo hesitated for a second and then nodded, sliding under the blanket with him.

"See? Better." Tao adjusted the blanket so it covered them both. Next he took one of Takeo's hands and intertwined their fingers, knowing physical contact had helped him at least.

"Do you want me to stay up?" He had a whole heap of films they could watch together, or he could chat with Takeo while working on some code at the same time.

"No, go to sleep." Takeo shook his head.

Tao squinted at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Takeo curled his free hand over Tao's, giving it a light squeeze. "Sleep."

"Hmm, all right." He closed his eyes, wriggling a little to get into a comfy position.

"Thanks."

"No problem." A few minutes later, Tao drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

><p>I think Tao's the only one out of the trio I haven't written with nightmares. Then again, I've written a couple with the others bugging him to go sleep, I think?<p> 


	27. Distracter

**Summary**: Takeo tries to make sure Tao takes a break.

Contains Takeo/Tao

Thaaaaaank you to Key who helped me with this.

* * *

><p><strong>Distracter<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

><p>Takeo slid into Tao's room, not surprised at seeing the other man in front of his computer, still focused on the screens in front of him – not when Takeo had needed to knock twice to even get a response.<p>

"Tao," he said, walking over.

"Mmhm?"

"Have you taken a break?" Takeo hadn't seen him since dinner and that had been a few hours ago.

The clack of keys ceased and Tao's lack of response was enough of an answer.

"I'll take one-"

"-once you've finished this 'one bit'," Takeo finished. He'd heard that multiple times before.

"…Heh." Tao bobbed his head for a second. His fingers were already drifting, pressing a few keys.

Takeo sighed and leaned in, brushing his lips to Tao's exposed neck. His skin was cold.

Tao jumped, his fingers splaying out. "Hey!" he squeaked. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to distract you." Takeo kissed another spot, moving up and Tao huffed.

"I'm not gonna-" Takeo kissed right under his ear. "-mmgf! _Takeo_!"

"Yes?"

"You're being - _mean_!" Tao squirmed. "Ass!"

Takeo chuckled, swivelling Tao's chair around. He was met with Tao's pouting face, but Tao hadn't resisted being moved either.

He had enough time to see a glint in Tao's eyes before Tao surged up, kissing him. Takeo took a step back, Tao following him, to make sure their heads didn't collide and to give Tao space to straighten.

He hummed, helping Tao keep steady. Tao's hands roamed, up his arms, trailing over his neck and then cupping his face.

Tao's tongue flashed out, the tip licking his lips and Takeo smiled. He parted his lips for Tao, his breathing deepening when Tao's tongue slid in.

"Aah…" Takeo's fingers found the hem of Tao's top and he traced the skin there, feeling muscles tense as he passed over them.

He wasn't paying attention to what he touched, just concentrating on that they _were_ touching, hearing Tao's breathing sharpen and-

Tao burst out laughing, jerking back and slapping his hand down.

Eh?

"Sn-sneaky asshole!" But his words were punctuated by giggling he couldn't get rid of fast enough. Tao stuck his tongue out at him and then blew a raspberry on his cheek.

"Ack!"

"For tickling me!" Tao declared, though he was wrapping his arms around Takeo, resting his head against Takeo's shoulder.

Takeo wiped his cheek clean with the back of his hand, grimacing at the feeling. "I hadn't meant to." He was vaguely sure where he'd been touching when it had happened; he would leave that area alone unless he _wanted_ to make Tao laugh.

"Hrrm…" Tao squinted at him and then pecked him on the lips. "All right – I'll believe you."

"I'm glad," he said, his voice deadpan and Tao swatted him again.

Either way, it had gotten Tao to stop thinking about work and that was what mattered.

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><p>It was originally going to be Takeo's hair tickling Tao's nose but then I looked closer at the art.<p>

Inspired by Moto's art: moto-21 tumblr com / post / 106044809416


	28. Puppy Piles

**Summary**: M-21 and puppy piles.

I was going to make this bigger, but it seems to be fine as it is.

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><p><strong>Puppy Piles<br>**

By Dark Ice Dragon

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><p>The M-series sleeping in puppy piles because after all the time they've spent in the tubes, touch is an affirmation that they're still alive, that they exist.<p>

When it's just him and M-24, they continue the few traditions the M-series had, to carry on their memory.

When M-24 dies, M-21 sleeps restlessly, used to having at least one warm body next to him.

It's only when Takeo and Tao are adopted into the household that M-21 is able to sleep well again.


End file.
